Safety pin

ABSTRACT

A SAFETY PIN DEVICE IS PROVIDED HAVING A ROTATABLY OPERATED SLEEVE PART, A BASE OR UPPER LOOP PART THAT SECURELY-CARRIES A PIN PART TO PROJECT FORWARDLY THEREFROM, AND A NOSE OR UPPER LOOP PART THAT IS ADAPTED TO LATCHRECEIVE A POINT END OF THE PIN AND TO BE ANGULARLYSWUNG INTO AND OUT OF AN AXIALLY-ALIGNED POSITIONING WITH RESPECT TO THE PIN. A SPRING PART IS CARRIED WITHIN THE LOOP PARTS AND HAS A CAM LUG THAT IS REMOVABLY-MOUNTED WITHIN THE WALL OF THE NOSE LOOP PART TO PROJECT OUTWARDLY AND COOPERATE WITH A CLOSED-END, SPIRALLY-SLOTTED, CAMMING PORTION IN THE SLEEVE PART TO, BY ROTATIVE MOVEMENT OF THE SLEEVE, ENABLE AN OUTWARD SWINGING MOVEMENT OF THE NOSE PART WHEN IT HAS BEEN RAISED OUT OF A LATCHING POSITION WITH THE PIN.

March 16, 1971 R, w. WAGNER SAFETY 'PIN Filed July l5, 1969 .1 T'TE'EE INVENTOR HUBERT IY. WAGNER mi@ pw M his Aller/uy I Kill.

United States Patent O 3,570,076 SAFETY PIN Robert W. Wagner, 1102 Lowenhill St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15216 Filed July 15, 1969, Ser. No. 841,855 Int. Cl. A44b 9/10 U.S. Cl. 24-156 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A safety pin device is provided having a rotatablyoperated sleeve part, a base or upper loop part that securely-carries a pin part to project forwardly therefrom, and a nose or upper loop part that is adapted to latchreceive a pointed end of the pin and to be angularlyswung into and out of an axially-aligned positioning with respect to the pin. A spring part is carried within the loop parts and has a cam lug that is removably-mounted within the wall of the nose loop part to project outwardly and cooperate with a closed-end, spirally-slotted, camming portion in the sleeve part to, by rotative movement of the sleeve, enable an outward swinging movement of the nose part when it has been raised out of a latching position with the pin.

This invention relates to an improved pin device for garments, fabrics, diapers and the like that is of a safety type and particularly, to an improved locking pin that is of relatively simple construction and operation and that provides a maximum safety of utilization thereof.

The conventional safety pin consists primarily of three l parts, namely a main flexible `wire body, a latch head that is carried by one end of the body, and a flexible pin that is carried by the other end of the body for snap-engagement within the latch head. There are a number of disadvantages to a pin of this type: the latch head tends to become damaged or the ilexible pin becomes bent, thus releasing the pin; when used as a diaper pin, it is very dangerous in this connection. Another disadvantage is the fact that it requires two hands to manipulate it properly, and a still further disadvantage is that the pin end does not always properly seat within the latch head. There have been other types of safety pins including those which have parts that rotate with respect to each other to move a pin into and out of latching engagement. However, none of these latter type pins have met commercial acceptance due to the complexity of their construction and assemblage and due to difficulties in maintaining them fully operative. There has been a need for an improved, inexpensive, safety type of pin that can be made inexpensively of relatively simple parts, and that can be easily assembled and used.

It has thus been an object of the present invention to develop a new and improved form of a safety type of pin or one which will meet the disadvantageous factors of prior art constructions.

Another object of the invention has been to develop a safety pin that canbe effectively operated by the thumb and the first and second ngers of one hand of the user in inserting it in the material and in latching it and, vice versa, in unlatching it and removing it from the material.

A further object of the invention has been to provide a safety pin device that utilizes movement of a head or nose loop part of an in and out and an angular swinging nature to latch and unlatch and uncover its pointed pin end, and that also employs a longitudinally-extending leaf-like spring and integral guide lug for cooperating with the other parts of the construction to provide an efficient type of operation with a minimized number and simplified construction of operating parts.

These and other objects of the invention will appear to those skilled in the art from the illustrated embodiment and the claims.

In the drawings, FIG. l is a side view in elevation showing a pin device constructed in accordance with the invention in a fully closed, latched or locked relation.

FIG. 2 is a view in elevation on the scale of and similar to FIG. l, except that it shows the parts in a preliminary unlatched relation wherein a head or nose loop part has been moved longitudinally or axially-outwardly to clear a pointed end of a pin part.

FIG. 3 is a side view in elevation on the scale of FIGS. l and 2 showing a device constructed in accordance with the invention in a nal, fully open position, as effected by turning, swinging or swiveling its nose loop part away from its pin part.

FIG. 4 is a side view in elevation on an enlarged scale with respect to and showing the pin in the fully latching position of FIG. l; in this figure, central or operating portions of the pin are shown partially sectioned to illustrate details of their construction.

FIG. 5 is a side view in elevation and partial section on the scale of FIG. 4 and showing the pin device in the same position as represented in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a further enlarged fragmental sectional view in elevation taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 4 and showing the pin device in its latched position of FIGS. l and 4.

FIG. 7 is a view in elevation and partial section on the scale of and taken along the line VII-VII of FIG. 5, showing details of the construction of the operating mechanism with the parts in their fully open position.

FIG. 8 is a vertical view in elevation of a spring part on the scale of FIGS. 6 and 7 and whose operating positioning is shown in such figures.

And, FIG. 9 is a vertical fragment taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. l, on the scale of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, particularly illustrating a spiral, operating, guide slot portion that is formed in an operating sleeve part of the construction.

As shown in the drawings, a -pin device 10 of a safetylike type has an upper tubular or hollow nose loop, latching or locking head part 11, an opposed lower tubular or hollow, pin-mounting or carrying base loop part 12, a relatively rigid pointed pin part 14, and a tubular operating or sleeve part 15. In the fully closed position of FIGS. l, 4 and 6, pointed end y14a of the pin part 14 projects within an open front end of the nose loop part 11, beyond its V-notched, side release offset 13. A piano-like, singlestrand, leaf-like, torsion spring part 17, as particularly shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, has 4bent end portions 17a and 17b that are at substantially 90 with respect to each other. One bent portion 17a is, as shown for example in FIGS. 5 and 7, adapted to engage within and against one side of the inner wall of the curved portion of the nose or upper loop part 11, and the other end 17b is adapted to engage in an opposed relation within and against an opposite side of the corresponding curved portion of the pin-carrying base or lower loop part 12. The angular relationship of the end portions 17a and -17b and the torsion flexibility of the axial length of the spring 17, thus normally tends to turn or rotate the loop parts 11 and 12 with respect to each other to the axially-aligned positioning of FIG. 2, even when the pointed pin end 14a is, as shown in this ligure, in a releasable or preliminary unlatched position.

The tubular nose or upper part 11, as shown particularly in FIG. 4, has a hole portion 11C through its wall to removably-receive an integral, transversely-extending, enlarged, annular, mounting, inner lug portion 16a of a guide' or cam pin or lug 16 of the spring l17 therein. When the spring 17 is inserted within the parts 11 and 12, its tension tends to keep or retain the annulus 16a in a forwardly-seated position within the hole portion 11C (see FIGS. 4, 5, 7 and 9); at this time, annular, reduced cam lug end portion 16b extends outwardly therefrom for operative movement within a closed-end, spirally-extending, slotted camming portion of operating sleeve part 15 that consists of a lower, rear end or latching, movementstarting slot portion 15C, an intermediate slot portion 15a and an upper, forward end slot portion 15b. The width of the camming slot portion is sufiicient to freely receive the portion 1611, but not the portion 16a of the cam lug 16; thus the sleeve part 15 limits or retains the inner portion 16a within the wall of the upper loop part 11. When the cam portion 16b is in lower end slot portion 15e, then the pin device 10 is in the fully latched position of FIG. l. When the cam lug portion 16b, is moved to rest in the upper slot portion b, then the pin 14 is in the preliminary unlatched position of FIG. 2

It will be noted that the slotted portion of the sleeve 1'5 has a curvilinear or spiral slope from its starting rear end portion 15C to its final advanced forward end portion 15b. When the lug portion 16b is at 15b, then further turning movement of the sleeve 15 with respect to the lower or base loop part 12 will cause the sleeve 15 to swing or angularly-move the upper or nose loop part l1 to one side to the fully open, pin end-clearing position of FIGS. 3 and 5. The latching slot portion 15C has, as shown in FIG. 9, a slight upward or forward offset or bias such as to cause an audible snap to indicate that the device is fully closed, latched or locked and to retain it in such a position until counter manual turning force is applied.

In the construction shown, the pin part 14 does not have to be exible and is fully rigid; it can thus ybe made of a better grade of metal for providing a wear-resistant pointed end. Its lower end is securely-mounted within the open front end of the lower or base loop part 12 as by crimping. The pin device 10 may be operated by gripping its sleeve 15 between the thumb and index finger and by placing the second finger against the lower or base loop part 12, leaving the other hand free to assemble or fold the cloth material that is to be pinned in place. The lower or base loop part 12 has, as shown particularly in FIG. 4, a circular or annular, outer groove 12C thereabout adjacent its back end which serves as a snap-in mounting for turned-in edges of one end of the operating sleeve part 15. However, axial pressure may be exerted to flex the edges sufiiciently to release the part 15 or to insert it in position. The groove 12a` serves as a rotational retaining means for the sleeve in its position over a back, offset or tail end portion of the lower loop part 12. The cam lug 16 and the camming slot serve as rotational retaining means for the sleeve 15 over offset back or tail end portion of the upper loop 11.

The nose loop part 11 has, as shown particularly in FIGS. 4 to 7, inclusive, an offset tail end portion 11a which, in turn, has a further stepped or cut-out offset portion 11b at its end. The other or pin mounting loop part 12 also has an offset or cut-out tail end portion 12a that is adapted to cooperate with the tail portion 11a and its offset 11b and, in combination with its own cut-out portion 12b, to effect a raising movement of the nose part 11 when the sleeve 15 is turned counter-clockwise to the position of FIG. 2, at which time the pointed end 14a is in clearing alignment with V-shaped end notch 13 in the nose part 11, and to effect a swinging or turningmovement of the nose part 11 when the sleeve 15 is further turned counter-clockwise to the ofi-axial position of FIGS. 3 and 5. Manual turning movement clockwise of the sleeve -15 along the full extent of the slot portions from 15b t0 15a to 15C returns the pin end 14a to the fully locked or latched position shown in FIG. l. Although not shown, I contemplate knurling the surface of the sleeve 15 to. if desired, provide an increased grip.

I claim:

1. In a safety pin device, a pair of cooperating upper and lower hollow loop parts, a pin .part secured at its lower end to project from a front end of said lower loop part and having a pointed end in a cooperating position with respect to a front end of said upper loop part, a torsion spring part extending along and within said upper and lower loop parts between their back end portions; said spring having angularly-turned end portions, one of which is in engagement within the wall of said upper loop part and the other of which is in an opposite engagement within the wall of said lower loop part to urge the front end portions of said loop parts into an aligned relation with respect to each other, whereby the pointed end of said pin part is in axial alignment with the front end of said upper loop part; said upper and lower loop parts having back end portions provided with offsets in a cooperating aligned relation with each other, a sleeve art rotatablypositioned over the back end portions of said loop parts and about said offsets, a spiral camming slot portion in said sleeve part about the back end portion of said upper loop part; and a cam lug projecting from the back end portion of said upper loop part into a cooperating-operating position within said slot portion for guided movement therealong when said sleeve part is rotated to, cooperatively with said offset portions, move said pointed end of said pin part into and out of latching engagement within the front end portion of said upper loop part and swing said upper loop part into and out of an aligned position with respect to the pointed end of said pin part.

2. In a safety pin device as defined in claim 1, said torsion spring being of a single leaf longitudinally-extending type with its end portions having an angular relation `with respect to each other of about 3. In a safety pin device as dened in claim 1, said cam lug being secured as an integral part to said spring and having an inner annular portion of one diameter and an outer annular cam portion of a smaller diameter, said upper loop part having a hole therein to seat said inner annular portion therein with said outer annular cam portion extending into said slot portion, and said slot portion having a width that is smaller than the diameter of said inner annular portion and that freely receives said outer annular cam portion.

4. In a safety pin device as defined in claim 3, said lower loop part having an annular groove in its back end portion, and said sleeve part having turned-in edges at its lower end that are rotatably-mounted within said groove to retain said sleeve part in an operative position with respect to said lower loop part.

5. In a safety pin device as defined in claim 1, the offset portion of said upper loop part having a stepped end portion defining a stop for limiting the maximum swinging movement of said upper loop part out of axial alignment with respect to the pointed end of said pin part.

6. In a safety pin device as defined in claim 5, said cam lug having an inner annulus portion integrally-secured on and projecting transversely from said spring, said upper loop part having a hole through its wall of a diameter substantially corresponding to the diameter of said inner annulus portion to position it therein, and said cam lug having an outer annular portion of reduced diameter that extends from said first-mentioned annular portion outwardly from said upper loop part into a cooperating position within said slot portion.

7. In a safety pin device as defined in claim 6, said sleeve and lower loop parts having cooperating portions that retain said sleeve part in a rotatable position on and with respect to said lower loop part, said spring in its operative positioning within said upper and lower loop parts urging said cam lug outwardly with respect to the hole portion in said upper loop part; and said annular reduced diameter portion of said cam lug, in cooperation with said slot portion, retaining said upper sleeve part in a ro- 5 6 tatable position on and with respect to said upper'loop References Cited Part' UNITED STATES PATENTS 8. In a safety pin device as dened in claim 6, said slot portion at its lower closed end having a slightly forwardly-upwardly curved shape to define a snap latching position of said cam lug with res-peet to said sleeve part. 5 DONALD A- GRIFFIN, Pflmafy EXamlIlCf 3,296,671 1/1967 Pawlowski 24-156 

